This invention relates to a process for developing a photosensitive material, and a device therefor, wherein an image on a photosensitive material consisting of a cover base laminated through the intermediary of a photosensitive layer to a support member is developed into a visible image by stripping the cover base from the support member.
With a photosensitive material consisting, for example, of a support member such as an aluminum plate, a photosensitive layer containing a photo-hardening material, and a cover base having a photo-transmitting property, such as a polyethylene terephthalate film, and having a characteristic in which an area of the photosensitive layer exposed to light is cured to be stuck to the support member and an area unexposed thereof is stuck to the cover base, an image on the photosensitive material is developed as a resist image on the support member by stripping the cover base from the photosensitive material.
One prior method for developing such a photosensitive material has been such that development is achieved by sticking an adhesive tape to the surface of a cover base and taking up the adhesive tape for stripping the cover base from the support member. Such a device, however, requires extra material, i.e., the adhesive tape, and also an adhesive tape feed mechanism, resulting in increased manufacturing and running costs. Furthermore, such a device does not always perform satisfactorily due to insufficient adhesion of the adhesive tape to the cover base.
Another prior process includes a roller provided with suction holes in the peripheral surface thereof, so that the cover base is stripped under suction for development. This process requires a vacuum pump and an air control mechanism, resulting in an increased size of the device itself, and hence an increased cost.